It must be gut-wrenching to outlast more than 6,500 players in a tournament only to finish seven spots off a spot in the November Nine.
That’s what Los Angeles native Eddy Sabat went through this summer at the WSOP.
Sabat is in good spirits though as he’s currently in Australia trying to get revenge at the WSOP APAC.
We talked to Sabat about some moments he is hoping will be on the current WSOP Main Event television coverage and what it takes to get back into poker after such a devastating elimination from the biggest tournament in the world.
Eddy Sabat during the WSOP Main Event
PokerListings.com: Now that you’ve had plenty of time to process it, how do you feel about getting so close to the November Nine in the 2013 WSOP Main Event?
Eddy Sabat: I loved that I got that far. You always aim to get that far, but your expectations get even greater the deeper you get into a tournament.
To get that deep and bust, it does hurt. It still hurts! But you learn from it.
If Mark Newhouse can do it twice, then anybody can. He’s a good player sure, but it shows you it’s possible to navigate that field.
I had a blast and I do think I’m a better player for having gone through that seven days.
PL: Did it take you long to recover from being eliminated that deep in the Main Event, or did you just get straight back into playing tournaemnts?
It didn’t really affect me like that.
I mean, it’s one of those things that you maybe think about for a week straight and maybe it wakes you up in the middle of night too!
[laughs]
The best way to get over a tournament is just to play another one. Different hands, different situations.
PL: Have you been watching the early episodes of the event on the Main Event and are there any moments or hands that you are hoping will make the coverage?
I saw a couple of episodes but I’m recording them on my DVR at home while I’m in Australia and I will watch it when I get back.
I’m looking forward to it, it’s going to be fun. Lot of exciting hands I was involved in.
There’s definitely a hand that I played with Andoni Larrabe the Spaniard who is a November Niner where I had tens and he just bet like crazy and then insta-shoved all in on the river.
I’m very interested to see what he had there. I want to know if he was messing with me or he actually had something. Hopefully they show that hand! I look forward to seeing that if they do.
PL: Do you think that was kind of a ‘one time’ when it come to the Main Event, or are you confident a deep run like that could happen again?
I cashed the year before, so I’m on a two-cash win streak!
I just look at it that once you get down to 300 players and you are in the cash, it’s like a normal tournament.
There are 6,000 players gone and you are just playing regular poker and trying to make that massive final table.
PL: You’ve had some big results down in this region, final tabling APPT Sydney, winning APPT Macau. Is there something about this part of the world that makes you play good poker?
I love coming to this region, especially Australia. It’s beautiful here. Even walking from my hotel, the air feels good. I’m from LA and the air is way nicer here!
You just feel blessed when you get to do this for a living in places like this
I’ve just been so short in this APAC Main Event, I haven’t had any chances to shove.
You can always run it up. You know Greg Merson was down to 10 big blinds and won the main event. That’s inspiring to us short stacks!
PL: After that deep run in the WSOP Main Event and now going deep in the APAC Main Event, do you feel like 2014 is a good year for you?
So far, 2014 has been a great year. Usually I do well towards the end of the year too.
It’s when I start working out, because it’s really hard during the summer to work out. So I usually gain a bit of a weight at the series. I love this time of year.
